Director
Jerrold Tarog
CRITICALLY-acclaimed director Jerrold Tarog is no stranger to Cebu, as he made his debut mockumentary indie film “Confessional” here 10 years ago. The movie, which won several awards at the Cinema One Originals and PMPC Film Awards, as well as the Best Film at the First Features Section at the 10th Osian Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema in New Delhi, India, starred several Cebuano actors.
Even then, his preference in making films had always been right off the edge, convincingly potraying the realities. His is the kind of movies that viewers get to enjoy and ponder upon, that even when all the credits have ended and the last viewer has left the cinema, the message of the film still lingers.
“Ever since I started (making films), I have always been confident na mataas ang capacity ng Filipino audience for more sophisticated entertainment. Kaso lang kadalasan, may mga movies produced that kind of looked down at the audience,” said the soft-spoken director Tarog.
Tarog, director of the highly successful historical film “Heneral Luna,” was in Cebu together with “Bliss” lead actress Iza Calzado for the film’s private screening at the Robinsons Galleria Cebu last Thursday.
For Tarog, there wasn’t any pressure in making a movie after the huge box-office success of “Heneral Luna,” since “Bliss” was an entirely different genre from the bio-historical film. He had initially expected to do a simpler film.
But what came out became more complex, with “Bliss” touching on several themes and weaving them solidly together.
“Sobrang napagod ako, actually. Di lang kasi siya about logistics. It’s the entire creative process, different kinds of themes and tying them all together,” he said as if to promise himself to do a simpler story for a less tiring process.
Jerrold Tarog with “Bliss” lead actress Iza Calzado during the film’s private screening at the Robinsons Galleria Cebu last April 20.
A psychosexual thriller film, “Bliss” had been in the headlines recently because of the initial “X” rating given by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) despite rave reviews from international film critics and audiences.
The “X” rating meant the movie could not be shown commercially in theaters nationwide.
“I did not get to explain what happened but in a nutshell, the group who screened the film was not personally offended by the it, they were kind of looking after the small conservative group who might get offended by the profanity of the film, thus giving it an X-rating,” he said.
The news escalated quickly, as most raised their eyebrows at the decision of the MTRCB, with the crowd bringing it to their social media accounts, asking if “Bliss” was worse than the erotic romantic drama “Fifty Shades Darker” that got the nod of the review board for it to be shown in Philippine cinemas.
But who would not love to see another work from this unassuming director after the “Heneral Luna” film, considering that “Bliss” had already caught the attention of international film critics, with Iza winning the most coveted Yakushi Pearl Award for Best Performer at the Osaka Asian Film Festival last March.
”Bliss,” on its second review by the MTRCB, was given the R-18 rating.
Jerrold said they are planning to get an approval for the R-16 version, which means covering all the nudity. He assured that the Filipino audience has long been ready for this kind of films.
“Maybe, but it’s one of the compromises (covering the nudity) na tatanggapin ko for now just to get the film out there, considering walang gumagawa ng ganun na genre. I am not willing to do more than that,” he said.
Tarog said the movie was bits and pieces of his own reality, mixing it up with his personal experience of working long hours as a filmmaker.
BROKEN DREAMS
Beyond its mature content—from sexual acts, nudity and strong themes and languages used—the movie tells a story of chasing after a dream. But while you’re at it, selfishness feeds on it, gradually breaking your dreams without you knowing it.
“The whole idea was to write something about broken dreams and how those dreams are broken by an environment of selfishness. Each and every character of the film, in one way or another, is oppressed but in another way, they are also oppressors. Once you are trapped in an environment like that, paulit-paulit lang ‘yung cycle of abuse,” said Tarog as he recalled writing the script.
The film follows the story of Jane Ciego played by Iza, who entered showbiz at a young age. Now in her 30s, she gets tired of the same usual projects she has been getting and decides to produce her own film with the aim of winning an award.
But things get out of hand when Jane figures in an accident on set, leaving her crippled and trapped inside her own home, with her husband and nurse. Waking up to the same scenario all the time, it became an endless nightmare for Jane as she tries to find an escape.
Despite some sensual scenes Iza did for the film “Bliss,” the actress said the hardest part was the “bed scenes,”—the scenes where she is
lying on the bed, not the love scenes.
“With all the bed scenes namin, not the love scene but the scenes just lying on the bed. Being on the bed, waking up to that smoke alarm thing … we did that in one day, over and over again. So when I went home, feeling ko nasa eksena pa ako nang nakahiga na ako pero feeling ko nagtatrabaho pa din ako. I’ve never felt that in my life,” shared Iza, who tries to shake it off after a full-day schedule on set.
In her most intimate scenes, Iza shared that filming those intimate moments (with co-star Adrienne Vergara, who portrays the nurse) was uncomfortable.
“It was uncomfortable but it’s work and they we’re all professional naman. Adrienne was the one who was hesitant. I was telling her to just do it and to get it done. I was a little too uncomfortable, to be honest,” she said.
When asked about the X-rating given by the MTRCB and how it affected her as an actress, the “A Love To Last” star said that more than anything else, it motivated her to make edgier projects.
“It’s rare lang (to receive roles like this). I would love to do something out of the box. The more challenging it is, the better. Mahirap makakuha ng kakaiba,” said Iza, who is also a fan of psycho thriller genre, either in books or movies.
“(I really like) pyscho thriller that involves me murdering people. I’d love that, the darker the more I would want to do that,” she said.
Aside from Iza and Adrienne, the film also stars Ian Veneracion, TJ Trinidad, Michael de Mesa, Shamaine Buencamino, Audie Gemora, and Stephanie Sol.
Experience the uncut “Bliss” as it opens in cinemas nationwide on May 10.
